header logo image


Page 37«..1020..36373839

Archive for the ‘Veterinary Medicine’ Category

Dr. Kent McClure joins the AVMA to lead advocacy efforts – American Veterinary Medical Association

Wednesday, July 12th, 2017

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is pleased to announce that Dr. Kent McClure has joined our team as Chief of Governmental Relations. In this newly created position, hell lead the AVMAs federal and state advocacy efforts to further elevate the success of our advocacy work.

Dr. McClure brings tremendous experience in advocacy at the federal and state level, said AVMA CEO Dr. Janet Donlin. The AVMA is already home to the leading advocacy staff for veterinary medicine in the nation, and the addition of Dr. McClure in this new position is going to take our advocacy work to the next level.

Dr. McClure previously served as General Counsel for the Animal Health Institute, where he worked on the development of policy that impacts the veterinary profession, animal health product research and commerce. Dr. McClure has served as a member of the AVMA Judicial Council, a trustee on the AVMA-Professional Liability Insurance Trust, a liaison to the AVMA Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents, and a member of the board of directors of the National Association for Biomedical Research. He also worked as an attorney at Cowles & Thompson and practiced veterinary medicine in Texas. He holds a DVM from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and a J.D. from University of Texas School of Law.

Im excited to join the AVMA and use my experience to advocate for the veterinary profession and sound public policy, said Dr. McClure. We have a lot of exciting opportunities in front of us, and Im looking forward to working with our talented team to protect, promote and advance veterinary medicine.

The AVMA has also promoted Dr. Ashley Morgan to Director of State Advocacy. Dr. Morgan has served as an assistant director in the AVMAs governmental relations division since 2008, during which time she honed her expertise on pharmaceutical issues and built relationships with state veterinary medical associations across the country. In her new role, Dr. Morgan will be responsible for providing vision and leadership for the AVMAs state advocacy efforts. Dr. Morgan holds a DVM from Cornells College of Veterinary Medicine and is a Certified Association Executive.

Read more:
Dr. Kent McClure joins the AVMA to lead advocacy efforts - American Veterinary Medical Association

Read More...

Diversity, inclusion added to accreditation standards – American Veterinary Medical Association

Wednesday, July 12th, 2017

By Malinda Larkin

Posted July 12, 2017

Many veterinary colleges have long been promoting diversity and inclusion, but now the AVMA Council on Education has codified these practices, approving revisions to six of its 11 Standards of Accreditation during its spring meeting, March 25-28.

The desire to have the concepts of diversity and inclusion better integrated into accreditation standards is nothing new. In fact, it was a prominent point of discussion during the North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium. This series of three national meetings in 2010 brought together hundreds of stakeholders to discuss core competencies needed by graduates, and to review and explore progress in developing new educational models for delivery of the veterinary curriculum.

One of the core competencies for graduating veterinarians that came from NAVMEC was diversity and multicultural awareness, specifically: "Veterinarians demonstrate an understanding of the manner in which culture and belief systems impact delivery of veterinary medical care while recognizing and appropriately addressing biases in themselves, in others, and in the process of veterinary medical care delivery."

An example of the revisions is Standard 11 (Outcomes Assessment), which now says that institutions must be able to observe, assess, and document that students demonstrate "ethical and professional conduct; communication skills including those that demonstrate an understanding and sensitivity to how clients' diversity and individual circumstance can impact health care."

In Standard 9 (Curriculum), newly adopted wording states that veterinary schools must provide opportunities throughout the curriculum for students to gain and integrate an understanding of the important influences of diversity and inclusion in veterinary medicine. This includes the impact of implicit biases related to an individual's personal circumstances on the delivery of veterinary services.

Veterinary colleges also are now required to cultivate a diverse faculty through their hiring policies and retention practices, consistent with applicable law. These institutions must also demonstrate ongoing efforts to achieve parity in advancement opportunities and compensation, according to changes to Standard 8 (Faculty). Student recruitment and admission practices, too, must be nondiscriminatory, as per changes to Standard 7 (Admissions).

Further, a veterinary college must be able to show a commitment to diversity that extends to the overall academic environment. This is interpreted as the college being an institution "that does not discriminate and seeks to enhance diversity, consistent with applicable law. Diversity may include, but is not limited to, race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, cultural and socioeconomic background, national origin, and disability."

The COE had received a number of public comments on the proposed changes; most were in support of the revisions. On the basis of the public comments, the council also revisedand ultimately approvedlanguage that clarified the COE's intent and was less prescriptive, according to the council's newsletter.

"The intent of the council is not to require colleges to meet specific numeric goals; rather, to have appropriate policies, processes, and practices in place that, in keeping with the mission of the college, are designed to promote the recruitment and retention of a diverse academic community and to promote, from qualified applicants, the recruitment and admittance of a diverse student body, consistent with applicable law. In addition, the council believes that, within the framework of the law that each college must function, diversity may be utilized as part of a holistic admission process," the COE wrote in the newsletter.

In addition to language incorporating diversity and inclusion in the standards, the council also modified the following language:

The revised COE standards are posted on the AVMA website.

AAVMC continues to move the needle on diversity (May 1,2015)

Certificate programs promote diversity in veterinary medicine (Nov. 1, 2014)

Dialogue about diversity reveals tensions (May 1, 2013)

We're all in this together (May 15, 2011)

Speakers share strategies to increase diversity (Oct. 1, 2010)

Read more:
Diversity, inclusion added to accreditation standards - American Veterinary Medical Association

Read More...

Western names Pease chief medical officer – American Veterinary Medical Association

Wednesday, July 12th, 2017

Posted July 12, 2017

Dr. Anthony Pease

Dr. Anthony Pease became chief medical officer for the Western Veterinary Conference on May 15, succeeding Dr. Don Waldron, who held the office for five years.

Since 2008 Dr. Pease has been a faculty member of the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where he is currently an associate professor in the Small Animal and Large Animal clinical sciences departments.

"(Dr. Pease's) dedication to lifelong learning will complement WVC's ongoing mission to provide quality continuing education to veterinary professionals," said WVC CEO David Little. "Dr. Pease will lead WVC's educational program, ensuring relevancy and innovation within our curriculum across the Annual Conference, Hands-on Labs at WVC's Oquendo Center, On the Road, and career-building courses as well as new initiatives."

Over the past five years, Dr. Pease has taught ultrasound courses at the Oquendo Center in Las Vegas.

Dr. Pease is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and served as president of the specialty college in 2014. He has chaired the Clinical Programs Committee for Michigan State's veterinary college since 2013.

"I am thrilled to join the WVC team and lead the veterinary curriculum for its world-renowned clinical facility, the Oquendo Center. This appointment is in lockstep to further educate, challenge, and train global veterinary professionals as I've done throughout my career," said Dr. Pease, a 1999 graduate of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

View post:
Western names Pease chief medical officer - American Veterinary Medical Association

Read More...

That ‘out of control’ feeling in veterinary medicine – dvm360

Saturday, July 8th, 2017

Do you pull the strings in your life and career? Or do you think luck, fate and other people are the deciding factor in your happiness and success?

Some people, even in bad circumstances, feel they have control over their lives. Psychologist Julian Rotter calls that an "internal" locus of control. Compare that to people who feel they don't have power over their lives, their actions, their families or their jobspeople with an "external locus of control."

Some researchers say happier people have an internal locus of control.

So, what about you?

Take this quiz, then come back here to learn more.

Are you convinced you're doomedGroundhog Day styleto face clients day after day who won't take your recommendations? External locus of controlthe pet owners govern your fate! Or do you work to soothe your frustration about that or adjust the way you communicate with pet owners? Internal locus of controlthere's something you can do, even if it's to let go of bad feelings from the workday.

Do you feel trapped in your job with coworkers you hate with no way out? That's external locus of controlyou have no power over your job, your bosses, your coworkers or your daily responsibilities. Or are you considering that you're choosing to stay because of the location or the clients or the money, or even better, maybe you're brushing up that resume and learning new skills? That's internal locus of controlyou're recognizing that you have a choice, even if you choose not to leave.

Choosing change isn't always easy (Dr. Dean Scott gives the "Negative Ned" side to this here), but the more you tell yourself you're fated to misery and unhappiness and the world is conspiring against you, maybejust maybethe more miserable and unhappy you feel.

But don't take our word for it. Let's dive in ...

Quiz: Are you getting squeezed by life?

When life in veterinary medicine gives you lemons, do you make lemonade ... or get squished? Find out more about how you see the world with this quick quiz.

Go inward: How locus of control can save you

Believing you have some control over the events in your life is crucial to happiness and could make a huge difference in your personal life and veterinary career.

Veterinary confessionals: In control ... or out?

We selected confessions from the Vet Confessionals Project that reflect the feelings of control (or lack thereof) that plague the profession.

The positive power of negativity

People with an internal "locus of control"who believe that they have control over their destinies and that their actions mattermay be happier and healthier. But making changes in your life isn't as easy for everybody, and we need to acknowledge that more than we do.

Game of Thrones: Are veterinary leaders born or made?

Deb Stone, PhD, studied "locus of control" and its potential impact on veterinary leadership. Dr. Hilal Dogan went one step further with the ideas: What does the hit HBO show have to teach us about leading in veterinary medicine? Are you Stark, Lannister, a Direwolf or one or those misfit leaders?

Like Ted Talks? Us too ...

Here are a few on the topic of choice, decision-making and locus of control. Are they inspired, aggravating or eye-rollingly cringy? Let us know at [emailprotected].

Are we in control of our own decisions?

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, PhD, uses classic visual illusions and his own seemingly counterintuitive research to prove that we're not as rational as we think when making decisions.

The art of choosing

Sheena Iyengar, PhD, a psycho-economist, studies how we make choices and shares her research full of surprises about our attitudes toward decisions.

Getting stuck in the negatives (and how to get unstuck)

Social psychologist Alison Ledgerwood, PhD, wants to understand how people think and how they can think better. Her research investigates how certain ways of thinking about an issue tend to stick in people's heads.

Here is the original post:
That 'out of control' feeling in veterinary medicine - dvm360

Read More...

Texas horse gets Southern hospitality at UT College of Veterinary Medicine – WATE 6 On Your Side

Saturday, July 8th, 2017

Related Coverage

KNOXVILLE (WATE) A young horse from Texas, going by the name of Barbara, managed to capture the hearts of many and has made the journey to East Tennessee for a rare surgery at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.

Barbara was born in January with a wry nose deformity that pulls her nose to one side, making it increasingly difficult to breathe and even eat sometimes.

Many owners would put the animal down simply for the cost of corrective surgery. Barbaras owner, Martha Carroll-Talley, learned there could be a second option, but that meant coming to Tennessee and leaving with a nearly $30,000 hospital bill.

Previous story: Texas horse with rare defect readies for trip to Knoxville for needed surgery

What lesson does it teach our children if we just dispose of things because theyre a little different? says Carroll-Talley.

It was a pretty complex surgery and it was composed of a lot of smaller surgeries so we had to cut the hole in her neck to allow for air, says UTCVM surgery resident Tanner Snowden.

Thankfully the surgery was a success with no complications and Barbara is now on the road to recovery with her second chance at life.

Its great to see her stand up. I saw her before surgery with the nose but it wasnt until she stood up that we saw the finished product, said Snowden.

Breathing is temporarily a bit different post-op because of a tracheotomy tube in Barbaras throat but that is expected to come out soon. The surgeons had to take out one of Barbaras ribs on her right side for a bone graft on her jaw. If all goes well, Barbara will be back home to Texas in six weeks.

If you would like to donate to Barbaras GoFundMe page, click here.

View as list View as gallery Open Gallery

Surgeon going over her case during rounds (source: UTCVM)

Barbara being prepped for surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara during surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara in surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara post-surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara post-surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara post-surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara post-surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara before surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara before surgery - close up (source: UTCVM)

Surgeon going over her case during rounds (source: UTCVM)

Barbara being taken to surgical suite (source: UTCVM)

Barbara being prepped for surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara during surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara in surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara walking to ICU after surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara post-surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara post-surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara post-surgery (source: UTCVM)

Barbara post-surgery (source: UTCVM)

Continue reading here:
Texas horse gets Southern hospitality at UT College of Veterinary Medicine - WATE 6 On Your Side

Read More...

Your Town: Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine one of top schools in the world – CNYcentral.com

Saturday, July 8th, 2017

Your Town: Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine one of top schools in the world

An adorable little baby Baltimore Oriole simply left its nest far too soon. A screech owl has a problem with its eye and a fisher is undergoing a physical exam to see where and if she's injured after being hit by a car.

All of these wild animals are taken care of at the Wildlife Health Center at Cornell University. It's the only academic wildlife center place in all of Upstate New York and takes care of one thousand wild animals every year, with the constant goal of releasing all of them back to the wild. It also regularly reminds people how they can also help before animals come here in the first place.

"We see a lot of severe trauma, mostly from cars. A lot of predator attacks, which are mostly domestic pets," says Dr. Sara Childs-Sanford.

The College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University is consistently ranked as one of the best vet schools in the world.

In addition to its wildlife center, there are three top notch hospitals that you could easily assume are for humans, but are instead dedicated solely to animals.

One is the Companion Animal Hospital where people can bring there four legged friends. It offers rare services such dermatology, oncology and dentistry.

"If an animal needs a route canal or even braces, they can offer those sort of services," says Dr. James Flanders.

Lillie Goodrich was recently the companion animal hospital's most regular patient for an entire year.

"I'd rather come where the best care can be with the most up to date thinking so we can get the good results that we need," says Goodrich.

She runs the Glen Highland border collie rescue and comes all the way to Ithaca from out near Cooperstown to get her dogs looked at so they can get ready to go up for adoption.

"This is also our emergency care for completaced cases so we're driving two hours as fast as we can sometimes to have the best care at our fingertips with really really difficult situations. You just can't get that ind of care locally, you just can't."

Cornell is widely known for its work with horses. These horses are owned by the university and allow students to work on medical issues and even help deliver newborn colts and fillys, before working on privately owned animals. Cornell is so respected for it's work with horses, not only will it treat professional race horses on site, but experts with the school will also travel to races like the Belmont Stakes to perform tests for illegal drugs.

This is just one of the many areas the veterinary school shines in to provide the next generation of physicians.

"We have more specialists then any practice, certainly in New York," says Dr. Flanders.

See the original post here:
Your Town: Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine one of top schools in the world - CNYcentral.com

Read More...

Dog park closes temporarily due to dog flu concerns – Ocala

Saturday, July 8th, 2017

Letty Towles Dog Park, 2299 SE 32nd Ave., Ocala, is expected to remain closed for the next four to six weeks.

The Letty Towles Dog Park in Southeast Ocala is temporarily closed due to concerns about H3N2 Canine Influenza Virus cases in north and central Florida.

The popular park at 2299 SE 32nd Ave. closed Monday and is expected to remain closed for the next four to six weeks, according a news release issued Friday by the city of Ocala. Dr. Kevin Stoothoff, president of the Marion County Veterinary Medical Association, advised the city to close the park temporarily.

I have been advised that the H3N2 virus is very contagious, and any type of exposure will likely cause infection, noted Julie Johnson, an assistant director with the city's Recreation and Parks Department. Dogs at risk to being infected are those with a social, active lifestyle that often participate in group settings. Humans cannot contract the virus, but can transmit the virus on their clothing or hands for up to 24 hours after contact with an infected dog.

Veterinarians with the University of Florida have confirmed that "21 dogs in its care have tested positive for the dog flu," according to a June 16 statement on the College of Veterinary Medicine's website. "These cases have originated in north and central Florida. As many independent veterinarians across the state also are able to provide diagnostic testing for H3N2 CIV, college officials are unable to confirm outside cases."

County-by-county breakdowns were not available "because canine influenza is not among the reportable diseases per state law," according the website.

UF's College of Veterinary Medicine also reported that Merck Animal Health and Zoetis, makers of the canine influenza vaccine, are increasing vaccine supplies. There have not been any dog flu deaths at the UF Veterinary Hospitals, according to the site.

Canine influenza viruses cause respiratory infections in dogs.

"CIV H3N2 just recently emerged in the Chicago outbreak of 2015," according to http://www.doginfluenza.com. "Most dogs that develop CIV infection have a mild illness, but some dogs become very sick and require treatment."

The virus, which had a presence in about 30 other states before making its way to Florida, was introduced to the United States in 2015, said Dr. Cynda Crawford, an assistant professor of shelter medicine at UF's College of Veterinary Medicine.

This is a highly contagious virus to dogs, just like influenza virus is to people, Crawford said last month during apress conference at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville. There is an eminent threat for dogs to be exposed to this virus in this state now.

It is very important for both veterinarians and dog owners in the state of Florida to have a very heightened awareness of the presence of this virus.

For UF College of Veterinary Medicine updates on the cases in north and central Florida, go to http://hospitals.vetmed.ufl.edu/canine-influenza. The city also advises talking to your veterinarian about vaccinations for this virus.

Original post:
Dog park closes temporarily due to dog flu concerns - Ocala

Read More...

NCTA is ‘gem’ for higher learning in state – Kearney Hub

Saturday, July 8th, 2017

A statewide college recently was recognized for its affordable, high-quality programs that support career development skills in production agriculture, agribusiness and technical trades, a high priority throughout Nebraska.

The national business magazine Forbes recently placed the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture at Curtis, one of the jewels in the University of Nebraska system, on its list of Top 30 Trade Schools in the United States.

NCTA Dean Ron Rosati said the colleges performance was based on academic quality, affordability and graduate earnings.

NCTA is gaining notice for its expanded programs in welding, irrigation technology, precision agriculture, veterinary science, animal science and experiential learning.

I have enjoyed serving on the NCTA Deans Advisory Council for 16 years, and witnessing tremendous expansion in programs and opportunities. I also have a vested interest as a tuition-providing parent of two children who attended NCTA.

Traditionally, the college provides a two-year associate degree program. More recently, it added two-semester certificates for welding and irrigation technicians.

Meanwhile, transfer options to four-year institutions have never been better, including with UNLs College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Animal Science and Agricultural Education Division Chairman Doug Smith reports a record number (16) of NCTAs May graduates plan to complete four-year degrees, including 13 who will start fall classes at CASNR. Two are UNL-bound in veterinary medicine or technology, and there are three each in agronomy, animal science, ag business and ag education.

The two-year NCTA Agricultural Education Program helps to fill a void for FFA-agricultural education programs. Smith says three of his NCTA graduates will be teaching in Nebraska high schools this fall.

Additionally, NCTA and CASNR recently announced a bachelor of applied science program that allows NCTA graduates to take online classes through CASNR with oversight by NCTA on campus or by commuting to Curtis.

This initiative allows students to work at farms, ranches or in other agricultural careers in central or western Nebraska without setting foot in Lincoln. What an outstanding opportunity!

Certified technicians are graduating from NCTA with majors in veterinary technology, irrigation technology and welding. Nebraska has the greatest number of center pivot irrigation manufacturers and largest number of irrigated acres, so its industries have strong demand for a trained workforce in electricity, welding, and ag equipment maintenance and repairs.

NCTA launched irrigation technician training in 2013. By 2016, the college had partnered with several ag cooperatives and industries to develop an ag career track in Nebraska high schools to include classes in diversified agriculture and agricultural chemical applications.

The first two graduates of the dual-credit program at York High School this May earned NCTA certificates in agricultural chemical applications. One will enter NCTA in August with one year of college credits.

Agronomy professor Brad Ramsdale has been teaching students in agronomy and crop sciences for eight years, and established an award-winning crops judging team that repeated as national champion in 2017.

Ramsdale recently completed a two-week crops-agronomy summer program for honor students. Partnering with Educational Service Unit 11, he guided students at classes in Holdrege and a two-day camp at NCTA featuring its on-campus agronomy resources.

The day camps and dual-credit programs are among many NCTA developments in the past five years. Expanded programs include precision agriculture courses taught by Ramsdale and practical crop management courses in which students form teams to manage crops at the NCTA farm laboratory just north of the Curtis campus.

The teams decide on seeding rates, irrigation management, fertilizer applications, weed control measures, harvest management and equipment maintenance.

NCTAs ag equipment program was reinvigorated in 2013 and now includes an irrigation technology partnership with Reinke Manufacturing and a welding program that has produced its first student to be certified by the American Welding Society.

Instructor Dan Stehlik graduated from what was the University of Nebraska School of Technical Agriculture. The alum taught in Kansas ag education programs for 19 years before returning to the Curtis campus to teach ag equipment, welding and irrigation technician programs.

College alumni say they are pleased to see the welding program expand because of the high demand for welding technicians. Production enterprises also are seeking well-rounded employees with skills in crops, livestock, machinery or equipment maintenance and business.

Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District has partnered with NCTA on several annual forums, including regular tours of the Central project through the Nebraska Water Balance Alliance.

NWBA members have had opportunities to mentor and interact with NCTA students at forums that bring irrigators, farm managers, educators, vendors and the public to the campus Nebraska Agriculture Industry Education Center.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service recently conducted internal training sessions and the Unicamerals Natural Resources Committee, chaired by District 44 state Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango, will have a public hearing at NCTA in the fall.

My involvement with NCTA and its predecessor go back to when the South Platte United Chambers of Commerce advocated for keeping the school open on behalf of Nebraska agriculture. SPUCC has continually voiced strong support for the college.

NCTA has been re-accredited regionally by the Higher Learning Commission. The veterinary technology program is re-accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

As for affordability, fall tuition at NCTA is $127.50 per credit hour for all students, regardless of residency.

I look forward to seeing whats in store next for the hidden gem of a college in Curtis.

Tim Anderson is a public relations adviser to Holdrege-based Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District.

Editors note: Mary Crawford, external relations coordinator for NCTA, provided some information for this column.

The rest is here:
NCTA is 'gem' for higher learning in state - Kearney Hub

Read More...

Veterinarians also susceptible to workplace, financial stressors – Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

Saturday, July 8th, 2017

This is by no means an easy topic to write a newspaper article about. In fact, I thought for many months about writing a column on this subject. It is receiving increasing media coverage, and with the request from fellow veterinarians in town, I think it is an appropriate time to address it.

It involves the veterinary professions increased risk for compassion fatigue, burnout and suicide.

A study of 10,000 veterinarians by the Centers for Disease Control in 2014 found one in six veterinarians have contemplated suicide.

In fact, veterinary professionals are four times more likely to commit suicide than the average citizen.

The veterinary profession also has the highest risk of suicide out of all of the medical professions.

This statistic is not reserved solely for general practitioners.

In the last few years the profession has lost notable behaviorists, surgeons, specialists, technicians and general practitioners to this mental illness.

What makes veterinary professionals more likely to experience compassion fatigue and then commit suicide?

The answer is complex and specific to each individual person (as is all mental illness), yet I believe there are certain key elements across the profession that make us more at risk than the general population.

The veterinary profession attracts professionals who are ambitious, driven, intelligent, compassionate, empathetic and hardworking, with an unwavering commitment to veterinary medicine.

These traits that help us become great doctors and practitioners can also be to our detriment.

It is all too common for veterinarians to take it personally if a case cannot be easily solved, a surgery does not go as planned or a patient cannot be saved.

After all, we are not used to getting Bs in school, let alone thinking we are failing a life!

It is very common to take work home, to dwell on it and retreat from loved ones who seem to not be able to relate. A vicious cycle can start when doubt, depression and isolation set in.

As well, the veterinary profession experiences more incidents of trauma than the general population, but also when compared to the other medical professions.

Our goal as a profession is to be a voice for the voiceless. However, that does not mean everything can be saved and for many of us, that is a very difficult pill to swallow.

While I personally believe euthanasia is one of the most humane acts we can perform as veterinarians, it does not mean we do not feel every time we push the syringe. It often means the exact opposite: We often feel, and perhaps too deeply.

Another form of trauma experienced by veterinary professionals that is unique to the profession is that decisions affecting diagnosis, treatment and quality of life of a patient are dependent upon an owners financial capabilities. Often compounding this trauma is an owner upset that we cannot perform services at no cost.

Using this against us is a form of emotional bullying.

If we could save everything for free we would; but if we took financial responsibility for every pet that needed it, we would burn out even faster.

We have to balance patient care for ALL patients, care for ourselves, care for our staff and care for the clinic as a business.

Our commitment to the profession also means younger professionals are incurring more debt than previous generations.

Our average starting salary is $65,000, whereas in 2016, more than 20 percent of veterinary graduates finished school with more than $200,000 in debt.

Financial advisers recommend a debt-to-income ratio of 1.5-2 to 1. Our ratio is often two to four times higher!

Imagine the deep love we must feel for our profession when we knowingly choose to devote our lives to the voiceless, despite the financial burden it puts on us.

It is then understandable the rebuff we feel when clients state we are in this for the money, or that we dont love their pet enough.

It is often this statement that furthers many veterinary professionals isolation and depression.

So how can we help this crisis? First, I strongly believe in self-care emotionally, physically and spiritually.

There should never be shame associated with seeking assistance from a professional.

Second, I think the veterinary profession and owners need to re-establish a mutual compassion for each other.

Communication from all parties should be done with grace and kindness.

It is imperative we understand we are all humans seeking to create a healthy, long-lasting relationship with our pets and the world around us.

Danielle Carey, DVM, is an associate veterinarian who practices mixed-animal veterinary medicine at the Animal Clinic of Walla Walla. Contact her at 509-525-6111.

Visit link:
Veterinarians also susceptible to workplace, financial stressors - Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

Read More...

Protect your pet’s feet from heat, burns – WSU News

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

By Charlie Powell, WSU College of Veterinary Medicine

PULLMAN, Wash. Temperatures nearing or surpassing the century mark in the Inland Northwest this week prompts the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine to issue a hot pavement advisory for pets.

Rarely do dog owners in the Inland Northwest need to be concerned about walking their pets on hot asphalt, explains Dr. Raelynn Farnsworth, head of the WSU veterinary teaching hospitals Community Practice Service. But even in relatively mild temperatures, burns to a pets pads can result if forced to walk on the hot surface.

86 degrees becomes 135 on asphalt

In the absence of any wind and in direct sunlight, asphalt surfaces can reach 125 degrees, when the air temperature is only 77 degrees, according to Dr. James Berens work on thermal contact burns published in 1970 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. At 86 degrees, the asphalt temperature jumps to 135 degrees and at 87 degrees, only one degree more, the asphalt temperature rises to 143 degrees.

Hot enough to fry an egg? Weve all heard the old adage but what temperature does it take to actually fry an egg in say 5 minutes? The answer is, an egg will fry on a 131 degree surface in only five minutes. And human skin destruction can occur in only 60 seconds on black pavement at a mere 125 degrees.

One thing pet owners can do is to press the back of their hand against pavement, explained Farnsworth. If you cant hold it there for a full seven seconds its too hot for a pets paws.

Burns in 35 seconds

First responders in human medicine can see thermal burns resulting from contact with hot pavement and they are trained to protect patients from the hazard. Work published in 1995 by physicians and first responders in Maricopa County, Ariz., noted that pavement there in the summer months typically was hot enough 9 a.m.-7 p.m. to burn flesh. The study also noted that second-degree burns could result on most days, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., within 35 seconds of pavement contact.

The good news is, unless incapacitated or restrained in some way so they cannot escape high surface temperatures, most pets pain response will not let them stay on a hot surface, said Farnsworth. So the key to not getting a pets paws burned is application of good common sense and situational awareness.

Avoid tethering and truck beds

In addition, pets should never be tethered on hot pavement or in the back of a pickup truck where the metal surface can burn. Let the pet find shade and walk on grassy surfaces; follow their lead.

If its not convenient to walk a pet on grass or soil, consider changing the walking time to early morning or late in the evening. And never walk a pet on any surface where hot tar may cling to their paws.

Pets with pad burns will typically limp or flat out refuse to walk and it takes time after the burn for the lesions to develop, said Farnsworth. The top layer of the skin will look like it is blistering and wanting to peel off, or it might already be absent entirely. And pets with burned pads will often lick their paws incessantly which can make the problem worse.

Farnsworth suggests that pets with suspected burns should always be seen by your family veterinarian as soon as possible. Care will usually involve supportive care including pain medication and cleaning and dressing wounds, plus an Elizabethan collar to suppress any licking.

Media Contact:

Charlie Powell, WSU College of Veterinary Medicine, public information officer, call or text 509-595-2017, or cpowell@vetmed.wsu.edu

Read more here:
Protect your pet's feet from heat, burns - WSU News

Read More...

Nextmune Creates Spectrum Veterinary LLC, a Leading Global Player in Allergy for Companion Animals – PR Newswire (press release)

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

PHOENIX, July 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Nextmune group ("Nextmune"), headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the assets of Spectrum group ("Spectrum") and formed Spectrum Veterinary, LLC. Founded by Mervyn Levin in 1989, Spectrum, headquartered in Phoenix (Arizona), USA, is dedicated to helping veterinarians and pet parents provide a better quality of life for pets with allergies. By combining differentiated testing, treatment, technical support and customer service, Spectrum has become one of the leaders in the U.S. allergy market. Spectrum enjoys a proprietary portfolio of tests and treatments offering both subcutaneous and sublingual personalized medicine from its USDA-certified laboratory. In addition to its successful North American business reaching every state in the USA and province in Canada, Spectrum has a strong export business reaching 5 continents across the globe. The business employs 34 staff. Following closing, Mervyn Levin will gradually transition out of the business over the next 12 months and be succeeded by Jonathan Levin (currently serving as Executive Vice President) supported by the management team of Spectrum and the global resources in Nextmune.

"The acquisition of Spectrum represents another key building block on our journey to create a champion in specialty companion animal health company," says Magnus Kjellberg, CEO of Nextmune group. "The transaction is a perfect match. Nextmune goes from a European #1 to a global leader in allergy with sales in almost 80 countries worldwide. Spectrum represents a compelling platform for entry into the US market and we are committed to taking the business to the next level for the benefit of our patients, pet parents, partners and employees."

"I am very impressed by what Nextmune has built and its vision in specialty veterinary medicine. Through the resources and capabilities across the Nextmune group, there is significant potential to take the business I founded 28 years ago into the future. I am delighted to find a new home in Nextmune," says Mervyn Levin.

The transactions are not subject to any further approvals or clearances.

Nextmune is dedicated to improving quality of life for companion animals. The company's ambition is to be the partner of choice for pet owners and veterinarians in specialized indications. With innovation being at the core of Nextmune, the company will invest in product improvement, supply and sales & marketing initiatives to offer premier treatment for the pet's condition. The company is committed to an entrepreneurial management approach to ensure veterinarians and pet owners are catered to in the best possible way. Key shareholders of Nextmune are Fidelio Capital (www.fideliocapital.se) and Premune (www.premune.com).

If you are a veterinarian and want to know more about how we can help you treat your allergic patients through allergy diagnostics and treatment, please contact us on info@vetallergy.com or tel: (800) 553-1391, info@artuvet.com or tel: +31 320-783100 and info@alergovet.com or tel: +34 914-134472.

For further inquiries, please contact:

Jon Levin Executive Vice President, Spectrum Veterinary LLC 480.464.8971

Magnus Kjellberg CEO of Nextmune +46 768 837 884, magnus.kjellberg@nextmune.com

Related Files

Nextmune creates a leading global player in allergy for companion animals 5 July 2017.pdf

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nextmune-creates-spectrum-veterinary-llc-a-leading-global-player-in-allergy-for-companion-animals-300484177.html

SOURCE Spectrum Veterinary, LLC

Go here to read the rest:
Nextmune Creates Spectrum Veterinary LLC, a Leading Global Player in Allergy for Companion Animals - PR Newswire (press release)

Read More...

Penn Vet may keep its $30 million in state funding after all – The Daily Pennsylvanian

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

Politics The school's state funding was slated to be cut under the state budget released in February this year By Haley Suh 18 hours ago Photo: Yolanda Chen / The Daily Pennsylvanian

The School of Veterinary Medicine, which for months appeared to be on the verge of losing millions in state funding, will almost certainly have its funding from Harrisburg remain in place, according to the latest updates from the state budget negotiations.

In the Pennsylvania state budget for the upcoming fiscal year, funding for Penn close to 90 percent of which goes to the Vet School was slated to be cut. The Vet School stood to lose almost $30 million, which constitutes 20 percent of their total budget.

This funding now looks like it might be restored by a bill that allocates $30.1 million from the state budget to the Vet School and over $281 thousand to the Division of Infectious Diseases at Penn Medicine.

The state Senate has already voted unanimously for the bill to pass and the House of Representatives will vote on the bill later this week, University spokesperson Stephen MacCarthy said in a statement.

We are grateful to the Senate for unanimously voting to restore funding for the School of Veterinary Medicine and look forward to continuing to advocate for the House of Representatives to support restoration, MacCarthy said.

The bill comes after advocates urged the government to reconsider the restoration of funding that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf proposed eliminating in his budget address in February. Wolfs cut came as a surprise to the Vet School, which has received funding from the state for the past 133 years.

Vet School Dean Joan Hendricks wrote a letter earlier this month to the editor of The Pike County Courier, a newspaper in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, urging people to recognize the vital role that veterinarians play in not just providing care for companion animals, but also in protecting the food supply and public health.

Hendricks cited the Vet Schools ability to fight re-emerging threats such as rabies, [help] farmers and truckers see where [swine virus] is present to prevent its spread, and ensure that 99.99 percent of Pennsylvania eggs [make] it to market without salmonella.

She also noted that Penn Vet was the only school of veterinary medicine in Pennsylvania.

Richard Ebert, president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, which provides legislative support and services to farmers in the state, also spoke out against the cut in funding. Ebert wrote to the Centre Daily Times, a periodical based out of State College, Pa., urging state lawmakers to support the restoration of state funding to Penn Vet. He cited the organizations role in studying diseases that could influence human health.

As a dairy farmer, I couldnt imagine losing access to Penn Vets world-class research, food protection programs, and veterinarian care, Ebert wrote. Thats why were calling on the state general assembly to fund this critical support system of agriculture.

Mark ONeill, director of communications at the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, said in an email that the organization was concerned that a loss of funding would diminish the Vet Schools strong focus on Pennsylvania agriculture, as well as its partnership with the State Department of Agriculture and Penn State University to monitor animal diseases.

ONeill also wrote that farmers were concerned the loss would hurt Penns ability to attract, train, and produce large animal veterinarians, who are decreasing in numbers in Pennsylvania and across the U.S.

Excerpt from:
Penn Vet may keep its $30 million in state funding after all - The Daily Pennsylvanian

Read More...

Building Your Horse’s Health Care Dream Team – TheHorse.com

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

TheHorse.com
Building Your Horse's Health Care Dream Team
TheHorse.com
Some equine veterinarians only serve the horse's medical needs, while others fill multiple roles if they've trained to also practice chiropractic, acupuncture, dentistry, physical or massage therapy, or other types of body work. And the best ...

See the original post:
Building Your Horse's Health Care Dream Team - TheHorse.com

Read More...

Lilly, Purdue seek medical advancements in new $52M collaboration – Indianapolis Business Journal

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

Eli Lilly and Co. plans to give Purdue University up to $52 million over five years to find better ways to inject medicines and to develop new models for clinical drug tests that can better predict the outcome of new medications in humans.

The two institutions announced the strategic research collaboration Thursday morning, calling it the largest agreement of its kind between Purdue and a single company.

The announcement comes as Purdue, based in West Lafayette, is spending $250 million over five years to bulk up its work in the life sciences sector, hiring more than 60 faculty members in life-sciences related fields and purchasing new research equipment.

Our investment on campus in the life sciences, announced in 2016, is leading to just the types of impact we had hoped to effect, Purdue President Mitch Daniels said in a written statement.

For Lilly, the agreement is the latest in a long string of collaborations with universities and research-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

The Indianapolis-based drugmaker traditionally spends about half of its research and development budget on outside partnerships, although it maintains a large in-house R&D workforce. Last year, Lilly had 9,300 employees in research and development, including several thousand in Indianapolis. Its total R&D budget last year was $5.24 billion, or about 25 percent of sales.

Lilly spokeswoman Lauren Zierke said the partnership wasn't expected to replace in-house research.

"This is not an outsourcing agreement, but rather a strategic collaboration for Lilly and Purdue to conduct additional research together using the expertise from both institutions," she said in an email to IBJ. "We anticipate no reduction to our headcount in Research and Development as we create this framework for a lasting collaboration. Instead, we view this agreement as an opportunity to reinforce a positive ecosystem for scientists in Indiana and further the work that has been done to create a life science hub in our state."

Lilly CEO David Ricks said the partnerships with Purdue and others were vital in helping to discover and develop the latest technology.

The biomedical revolution is upon us, but harnessing its full potential will require strong collaboration between academic research centers and industry partners, he said in a written statement.

The initial research between Purdue and Lilly will focus on two areas. The first will be to develop improved ways to inject medicines, with the goal of reducing pain, decreasing the number of injections and thus getting patients to comply with medical orders and improve their health.

The second area is to develop new models for clinical tests that will better predict how humans will respond to new medicines. The overall success rate for new drugs is just 9.6 percent, from early clinical testing to government approval, according to BIO, a huge biotech trade association, based on data from 2006 to 2015. That means nine out of every 10 drugs that go into clinical testing are scrapped along the way.

Purdue researchers from the natural and physical sciences, engineering and veterinary medicine will work on the projects with Lilly researchers. The collaboration could be expanded to other areas, the two institutions said.

Read the original:
Lilly, Purdue seek medical advancements in new $52M collaboration - Indianapolis Business Journal

Read More...

Lake cops cuddle seized puppies – nwitimes.com

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

CROWN POINT Lake County police officers have opened their homes to puppies the department seized last month from a Center Township man awaiting trial on criminal charges.

Dan Murchek, assistant county police chief and department spokesman, said recently the sheriff is allowing officers to take home French bulldog puppies among other dogs to relieve overcrowding in the Lake County Sheriff's Animal Adoption & Control Center.

"Officers are helping taking them home, playing with them, socializing them. They are not getting paid for this," he said.

County police said they discovered 68 maltreated dogs last monthin a poorly ventilated garage in the 5900 block of West 125th Avenue.

The prosecutor's office has charged Steve Rajcinoski, 26, of Crown Point, with 11 felony counts of animal mutilation and more than 80 misdemeanor allegations of cruelty to an animal, practicing veterinary medicine without a license and failure to register as a commercial breeder in connection with the raid.

Rajcinoski is free on bond, and his lawyers have requested the court return the seized animals.

Police are keeping custody of the dogs until the Lake Superior Court issues a ruling.

The case has been on hold since Judge Julie Cantrell recused herself from it in the wake of public anger over the case. The judge said people tried to pressure her through telephone calls and social media to punish the defendant.

Before leaving the case, the judge slapped a gag order on all parties in the case at the request of Rajcinoski's attorney.

Murchek said the animal shelter's resources have been stretched in the meantime.

"When I last checked, there were 92 dogs. And that doesn't include all the cats. That is just overwhelming for us," Murchek said.

"It is expensive when you get this many dogs especially those with health care needs. These particular dogs had some medical issues, so our officers are helping, taking them to the veterinarian."

Murchek said the department is keeping the foster care arrangement within the department, and it is not offered to the general public.

"Our people are vetted. We know who they are. We have had officers in the past who have helped out when we have been overcrowded to take dogs home temporarily," he said.

Murchek insisted this foster home arrangement also is only temporary. "This guy could get all the dogs back," he said.

If the court forfeits dogs to the county, they would go up for normal adoption to the public. "Nobody has dibs on the dogs," he said.

He said the public may still make donations to the shelter to assist during this period.

"If they want to bring in items other than cash, they can call the animal shelter to find out what they are short of. We are a no-kill center. We have had dogs that have been in the shelter for months, who people don't adopt," he said.

Here is the original post:
Lake cops cuddle seized puppies - nwitimes.com

Read More...

State looks to WSU for elk hoof disease research – goskagit.com

Wednesday, July 5th, 2017

The state Department of Fish & Wildlife continues to investigate the cause and spread of a hoof disease affecting elk in the state, including in Skagit County.

The disease is caused by a bacteria that can cause hoof deformities. The bacteria is known to also cause lameness in affected livestock.

Its spread into northwest Washington remains a mystery, as the disease was first found in southwest parts of the state years earlier.

Story continues below video

In late 2015, an elk with the disease was found on Highway 20 in Skagit County. In 2016, two elk north of the Whatcom-Skagit county line were also found to have the disease.

A new state law directs Fish & Wildlife and Washington State University to continue researching how the disease spreads between animals and from one location to another.

The law was sponsored by Sen. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, who chairs the Senate Natural Resources and Parks Committee.

The law takes effect July 21. The recently passed state budget includes about $1.5 million toward the laws goals.

The law directs the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine to monitor elk herds, identify causes for the spread of the disease and come up with solutions to prevent it.

Pearson said in a news release that action is needed because livestock farmers have expressed fear of the disease affecting their herds.

WSUs College of Veterinary Medicine has long been a partner in the states work on the issue, including having six representatives on Fish & Wildlifes Technical Advisory Group for the elk hoof disease, said Fish & Wildlife statewide elk specialist Brock Hoenes.

WSU College of Veterinary Medicine spokesman Charlie Powell said the universitys Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory received several elk hooves from Fish & Wildlife leading up to the diagnosis of the hoof disease.

We dont need to see any more hooves ... We have moved into the next step of needing to do comprehensive research, he said.

With the law set to take effect and funding secured, the university will likely designate a faculty member to oversee elk hoof disease research and to dedicate some staff to handle experiments, Powell said.

Fish & Wildlife veterinarian Kristin Mansfield said beyond knowing that the disease is at least in part caused by an infectious bacteria, many questions remain.

Questions that need answers include whether the bacteria can persist in the environment, how the disease is passed from one elk to another, how the disease affects elk survival and population sizes, where in the state the disease is being seen and whether some elk have a genetic resistance to it.

WSU is one of several universities and government labs Fish & Wildlife has collaborated with on research about the disease.

Mansfield said WSUs work helped diagnose the disease.

They had a key role in the early years starting in about 2009, when the disease first emerged in the landscape in elk in southwest Washington, she said. We collected several samples from elk in those early years and the majority of those samples went to WSU, so they played a key role in helping us diagnose what the disease was.

Masnsfield said along with work at U.S. Department of Agriculture labs, the University of Liverpool and other locations, WSU can continue helping to reveal more information about the hoof disease.

Meanwhile, Fish & Wildlife continues to seek public reports of hoof deformities in elk killed in collisions, killed by hunters or observed limping.

Hoenes said reports have helped Fish & Wildlife confirm the disease in Skagit, Whatcom, Thurston and Mason counties in recent years.

Skagit County residents have reported seeing one or more limping elk in September and December 2015, March and August 2016, and March 2017.

Those are a handful of the 1,100 reports Fish & Wildlife has received statewide since it started taking online reports in 2012.

I really feel for people who are seeing this out there in the wild, said Powell, who has also received calls from distressed members of the public who have seen elk with deformed hooves.

See the article here:
State looks to WSU for elk hoof disease research - goskagit.com

Read More...

After 50 Years, Equine Vet Not Ready for the Pasture – Southern Pines Pilot

Wednesday, July 5th, 2017

Fresh from a teaching stint at Cornell Universitys veterinary school, moving to Southern Pines in 1971 made Fred McCashin feel a bit like a pioneer on the frontier of equine medicine.

Considering the manicured pastures of todays Southern Pines horse country and the miles of weathered post-and-rail fence lines in Moore Countys equestrian enclaves, that feeling is difficult to imagine.

But back then, much of the equestrian community here was seasonal fox hunters and harness racers and N.C. States College of Veterinary Medicine wouldnt be up and running for more than a decade.

McCashin, 76, recently attended the 50th reunion of his vet school class at the University of Pennsylvania. His Youngs Road practice, Carolina Equine Clinic, is celebrating its 40th year in business this month.

He came to North Carolina not to be a solo practitioner, but to direct the N.C. Veterinary Research Foundation. Established as a nonprofit by a group of veterinarians hoping to lay the foundation for a veterinary school, the facility is now the N.C. State Equine Research center on U.S. 1 north of Southern Pines.

Dr. Fred B. McCashin, shown here with Attaboy Roy, establshed the Carolina Equine Clinic in 1977. (Photo by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)

Other opportunities were available: continuing to teach at Michigan State, or working as the staff veterinarian for the racing stable of a prominent French art dealer. At that point, though, hed had enough of difficult characters and the politics embroiled in academia. And the chance to fill a void for the states thriving horse business by performing surgery on a referral basis held its own fascination.

That was really sorely needed because there were very few veterinarians that would even attempt to do surgery in the state of North Carolina, said McCashin, who recalled his six years at the research foundation as nonstop work.

I could stay up all night operating on a case and you didnt have any time off the next day. It was like working on the prairies. It was a nice building and all, we had the facilities, but I was trying to get veterinarians in the field to come in with their cases and give me a hand, because sometimes you just cant do it all by yourself.

He opened Carolina Equine Clinic in 1977, working out of the barn on the property, then adding a clinic and lab building.

This is just a little modest thing, and I never made it any bigger, he said. I thought about having branches in Wilmington and other places where no one was doing surgeries, but I was busy enough here that I couldnt get away.

The clinic is strewn with relics from McCashins career in the form of calcified masses extracted from patients. One, the size of two fists, he found in 1982 while performing emergency colic surgery on a Morgan horse from a Raleigh farm before N.C. State started surgery.

In that particular case, McCashin rushed to the clinic on Halloween his children missed trick-or-treating that year not a moment too soon as he opened the patients abdomen to find it full of manure. Though that could have been a death sentence, the horse made a full recovery.

The owner was here and I said this is bad but I just took it and heaved it over the side and everything else looked reasonably clean, he recalled. The stone was there and it had ruptured his small colon. So we cleaned it up, took out the busted section and stuck it back together again and I said well just see how its going to go.

I dont ask the kids if they remember that, he said ruefully.

Its that kind of episode that remains so vivid to the longtime veterinarian that it might as well have happened yesterday. So too with the tough cases, solved through months of rehabilitation and sheer force of will like Jet Murmur, a Thoroughbred colt who broke his leg at around six months of age.

(Photo by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)

In six months I think I had him on the table maybe seven times because the plates kept getting a little bit loose and Id go back in and tighten up the screws and put new screws in and kept altering the thing, McCashin said.

I remember taking him on a longe THIS IS CQ line up there on the hill and taking him through the woods and trotting him over logs and stuff. He was a long yearling by the time I sent him home and he ended up being a productive stallion.

McCashin developed a specific interest in orthopedic surgery as a student protg of Jacques Jenny, who invented the technique of bone plating inspired by Swiss compression equipment used to treat skiing-related fractures in humans. He remembers plating the first broken leg at Ohio State University while studying as a postdoctoral student there.

It was a fancy Quarter Horse filly by a stallion called Gunsmoke, he recalled. Its always fun if you happen to save the life of a horse thats in a line of really well-bred animals.

Appreciation of a good horse was in McCashins blood long before he became a veterinarian. His father, Arthur, was captain of the U.S. national show jumping team that won bronze at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Growing up on a derelict polo field in New Jersey, McCashin and his older brother jockeyed their fathers steeplechase horses and jumpers. But it was on his fathers advice that he decided to forego a chance to ride in the Olympics himself.

Dad told me, If you had a horse and went to the Tokyo games in 64 and you win a gold medal, you put the gold medal and a dime on the counter and youll get a cup of coffee, McCashin said.

I did ride with the team for quite a while, just never competed, but I exercised some fancy, fancy jumpers. I was lucky to be on Ksar dEsprit and Fire One and San Lucas and horses that are in the history books.

Though he never got to ride in the Olympics, McCashin had a backstage pass to the 1976 games in Montreal as the official vet for the United States Equestrian Team and to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as an officiating vet for the international governing body for equestrian sports known as the FEI matching the competition horses to their international passports and drug testing a random sample.

While he stepped back from work as a competition vet last year, retiring completely isnt in McCashins plans. Not that he hasnt considered it. But after 50 years, he isnt sure he knows how not to be a horse doctor.

For the last few years, the clinic has hired younger veterinarians to do the bulk of the everyday work driving around Moore and nearby counties vaccinating horses, performing dental work, and other preventive maintenance. McCashins current associate, Beth Susen, has a knack for tricky reproductive cases.

Several of the areas equine veterinarians initially built their reputations in Southern Pines while working as McCashins associate vets. Perhaps as notably, Dean Richardson at UPenns New Bolton Center, who rose to stardom in the horse world when he operated on 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro after he broke several bones in his right hind leg at the start of the Preakness Stakes, worked at Carolina Equine Clinic before he was even admitted to vet school.

I saw him when I went up for the 50th reunion and reminded him he used to plant trees for us down here, McCashin joked.

McCashin still performs some surgeries in the clinics padded operating room, but like most vets refers severe colic cases and broken limbs to N.C. State. In 40 years of veterinary practice, there has been plenty of development to keep abreast of things that dont involve picking up a scalpel.

IRAP, stem cell therapy and other regenerative therapies have replaced counter-irritating methods in treating common tendon and soft tissue injuries in horses. The telltale scars of pinfiring applying extreme heat or cold to a horses leg were once frequent markings in horses retiring from the racetrack but are now out of vogue among most trainers.

(Photo by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)

You would do counterirritation just to give the horse time off, McCashin recalled.

The advent of digital imaging has made diagnosing lameness easier than ever but McCashin failed to join N.C. States faculty in their enthusiasm when the school first acquired an equine MRI system.

Its a great research tool and you can definitely learn a whole lot more by getting that kind of detail, but they get really reliant on some of that technology when they get out of school, so theyre stuck, he said. I always tell them you can use your ears and your eyes and your fingers, if you learn to use them, to discover a lot on a horse.

McCashins patients range from carbon copies of the horses he rode in his showjumping heyday to horses of a different color entirely: Standardbreds training in Pinehurst, barrel racing Quarter Horses in Carthage, and mammoth jack donkeys in Wagram.

Riding a Paso Fino in the Andes on a recent vacation to Peru, it was all he could do not to conduct an impromptu study of the hardy horses respiration rates at varying elevation levels.

When you really love doing the kind of work you do, its hard to retire, he said. Its hard to give that up. You like to be selective in what you do and what you dont do. Ive had surgeries to repair this and repair that, my back, and then I had my heart ablated for a-fib, so I just try not to get sedentary.

Follow this link:
After 50 Years, Equine Vet Not Ready for the Pasture - Southern Pines Pilot

Read More...

A Thing or 3: Logan’s Susan Benson talks about being a veterinarian – The Herald Journal

Tuesday, July 4th, 2017

Dr. Susan Benson, a veterinarian at Bridgerland Animal Hospital in Logan, says she loves her job in part because theres always room for professional development.

Its something that I dont feel like Im finished doing, she said. Theres always more to learn, always more to do.

Whether its bringing a baby animal into the world or operating on a large, injured animal, being a veterinarian is never without its challenges and often means dealing with the unexpected, Benson said.

Story continues below video

It was for those efforts that Benson was recently named the 2017 Veterinarian of the Year by the Utah Veterinary Medical Association.

Benson got her start as a professional veterinarian at a clinic in Preston working on large and small animals. In 2005, she moved with her family back to Logan, where she works now at Bridgerland Animal Hospital, primarily on small animals.

Benson sat down with The Herald Journal to tell us three things she wants people to know about being a veterinarian.

No. 1: Its not all puppies and kittens.

Susan Benson: We see every species not just dogs and cats.

I dont (see these animals) personally, but large animals. Half of our staff does cows, sheep, goats, llamas. Im mostly small animals.

We see animals from birth to death and everything in between. We have blood, guts and diarrhea and thats all intermixed with cute puppies and kittens and animals that love us and animals that dont.

Our patients cant talk for themselves so we do quite a lot of interpretation on what we see and how theyre acting in order to find out whats going on with them.

When I worked up in Preston, I got to see a deer fawn that had been injured. I think it had been hit by a car. I worked on that deer fawn a couple times. It was quit interesting theyre different than your standard domestic animal.

No. 2: We love people just as much as we love animals.

SB: Its a common misconception. Were not in veterinary medicine because we dont like people. Were here because we like people, and we want that human-animal bond.

Ill go around to middle schools and high schools for career fairs; Ill have students come up to me and say, Well, I dont really like people, so I dont want to be a doctor. Im going into veterinary medicine. But you have to love both; you have to love people and animals.

More than that, theres a three-way bond. The animal has its needs, the owner has his or her needs, and as a veterinarian, our job is to help the owner help the animal meet those needs.

The owner is ultimately responsible for the care, and then that pet has a responsibility back to give the love. And then, as the veterinarian, we educate the owners to help them make good decisions for their pets so they have a long, healthy, happy relationship.

SB: We understand. When there are hard decisions that have to be made, when the animals are really sick, we feel for you. We share that worry, that sadness.

Every animal that comes in, we add to our little family. When things go great, were there to celebrate. When things dont go well, were sad too.

Ive got a few patients, where Ive been here for 12 years, that Ive seen literally from birth to death. Ive helped with their C-section, so theyre a part of my life even though I dont own the animal. If I help save their life at any point, I feel like Ive given part of myself, and theyve given me part of themselves.

As they get through their life, I see their ups and downs, and we get to have a relationship both with the animal and the person.

When they pass away, its a grieving process for us too.

Read the original post:
A Thing or 3: Logan's Susan Benson talks about being a veterinarian - The Herald Journal

Read More...

Pet Vet: His bearded dragon lizard no longer wants to eat – Quad-Cities Online

Tuesday, July 4th, 2017

I think a lot of people realize veterinary medicine can present challenges different from those in human medicine. Certainly, our companions have some similar physiology and structures to our own, however the main challenge is that veterinary medicine patients are not as communicative as humans are with their physicians. I have seldom had a patient tell me where it hurts.

This challenge is one of the reasons and there are many why veterinary medicine is so fascinating. It also is the main reason diagnostics can be so important. This is especially important with some of the less mainstream species some people choose as companions. Lou is one of those species, a bearded dragon lizard.

Lou lives in a large cage and is well taken care of by Brandon. Lou is 5 years old and has been with Brandon for most of his life with no health issues. That no longer appears to be the case. Lou has decided he does not want to eat. For Lou, this is highly unusual as, according to Brandon, he usually eats every chance he gets. For the last 10 days or so, he has not touched anything Brandon has offered.

That is all the information I have to go on so it appears I am going to have to use one of my more primitive diagnostic tools, my crystal ball. To be fair to Brandon, this is the single most common presentation for a reptile patient. When they are having health issues, they generally do not eat. This could be the result of a simple problem such as a sore mouth or as complicated and severe as terminal cancer. Therefore, in Lous case and frankly in many cases of reptile illness, we start with the symptom of anorexia and look to a virtually unlimited list of disease possibilities.

Brandon obviously will need to take Lou to his veterinarian for evaluation. I will share what I generally do when presented with an anorexic reptile patient, using Lou as an example. But every case has subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle differences so the thoughts I share may not translate to other lizard cases with the same symptom of anorexia. (The disclaimer!)

Physical examination always is an important diagnostic step, and Lou is no exception. Through this process, we sometimes can fine tune our approach to the necessary diagnostic steps toward uncovering Lous problem. Again with no clues in this particular case, I will be a bit more generalized.

I recommend Lou have some radiographs taken to look inside his little body and a blood panel drawn to check organ system functions. A fecal examination for parasites also is warranted.

These steps will provide a good overview of what might be going on with Lou and hopefully direct us to the next step be it further diagnostics or treatment based on an illness discovered from the tests.

As stated, the best advice is to take Lou to his veterinarian.

Original post:
Pet Vet: His bearded dragon lizard no longer wants to eat - Quad-Cities Online

Read More...

Ask the Vet: Why does our neighborhood tomcat drool so much? – Charleston Gazette-Mail (subscription)

Tuesday, July 4th, 2017

We have a neighborhood cat, a big, gray tomcat very friendly who hangs out on our porch with us. He likes to rub his jowls on us, furniture, everything, like most cats do, butwell, he drools. Like, his fur actually becomes wet with it at the corners of his mouth. He sometimes drips saliva onto the porch, which is not something I have ever seen a cat do. Any ideas what might cause that?

Good question! Excessive drooling is called ptyalism. It is a medical condition characterized by the excessive flow of saliva, also referred to as hyper salivation. It can be normal in certain situations like when my children smell breakfast foods cooking on the weekends or when the dogs are eyeballing a cat eating cat food that should rightfully be going to the dog. But in lots of other situations it is a sign of an abnormality, especially in the cat. Remember the phrase, cats rule and dogs drool?

If a cat is drooling, and it is associated with a pleasurable experience like being petted or sitting on their owners lap, then it can be a normal behavioral response to a happy experience and I hope that Tom cat is just happy to be near you. If I was presented with a cat that was drooling I would start with the oral cavity and look for issues there.

Drooling and dental disease go hand in mouth. Inflammation of the gums, stomatitis and gingivitis certainly do cause drooling and pain. Teeth with neck lesions and fractures are also a source of pain and stress internally and would ultimately produce salivation.

In cats we see oral tumors on the jaws and all over the tongue. These act as a foreign body in the mouth and the automatic response to anything that is not supposed to be in the mouth is to produce drool to either swallow it or flush it away. On occasion we will see real foreign bodies, like sticks or even bones from recent hunting adventures, lodged in the mouth that will cause this behavior.

Going lower down the GI tract, gastrointestinal issues can cause a cat to drool. This is especially true if they have nausea due to inflammatory bowel disease or even esophageal reflux and the result is pain in their lower esophagus.

These cats do well with Pepcid and feeding at night more than feeding in the morning. I know this is not an option in Toms case since he is a roaming neighborhood cat, but if someone kind decides to take him in and love him forever, it could helphint, hint.

Then there is a whole group of weird issues which could make cats drool. In veterinary medicine we call theses Zebras. It comes from the lesson they taught us in veterinary school, When you hear hooves galloping, look for the horse, not the zebras.

Zebras in this case must include of course, rabies. We still have rabies in West Virginia and Tom may not have been vaccinated. Rabies is a fatal disease so that is probably not the case, but it is a rule out.

Toxin exposure could cause oral ulceration and could be a cause. I read a story about a cat sleeping on insulation and the fiberglass he inhaled caused ulceration and oral trauma resulting in drooling. Most chemicals can have the same effect on the cat.

There is a condition called a portosystemic shunt that we see in veterinary medicine in both dogs and cats that can result in drooling abnormally. This is a congenital condition where the major blood vessels running through the liver flow abnormally. Shunts are only diagnosed definitively with dye studies and advanced imaging. Shunt animals can drool and have seizures, too.

Simple blood tests will give you a clue that this is the case and a referral to a veterinary school will diagnose the issue, which is 100% curable with surgery.

Lastly, in a situation such as Tom is in, stress also can be a trigger. I see this in my patients at times on exam. They are fine at home but as soon as they come into an exam room and see me, it starts.

I like to tell the owner that I feel their mixed breed cat probably has St. Bernard in it. Sometimes they laugh and sometimes you can hear the crickets chirping. My technician always laughs, though, to save the day.

Stress can be and is real for cats. Tom is out there in the neighborhood and is untrusting at times of people so that may be affecting his behavior, too.

As you can see, drooling can be a happy response, which I hope is the case for Tom or it can be a clinical sign of an internal issue.

My best advice is, as always, come to the hospital and lets try to figure it out. As veterinarian we think drool is cool and lets find out why and see if we can fix it. Owners obviously dont get that excited but your concern is a step in the right direction.

Good luck to you all and see if you, or another kind neighbor, can take that boy in for a checkup.

Original post:
Ask the Vet: Why does our neighborhood tomcat drool so much? - Charleston Gazette-Mail (subscription)

Read More...

Page 37«..1020..36373839


2025 © StemCell Therapy is proudly powered by WordPress
Entries (RSS) Comments (RSS) | Violinesth by Patrick